New Delhi: An Indian man in Saudi Arabia has been fired from his job for posting “derogatory comments” on women, amid the Sabarimala temple row, a media report said on Wednesday.
Deepak Pavithram, a Keralite working with Lulu Hypermarket in Riyadh, was sacked on Tuesday for making misogynistic and insensitive remarks about women on social media.
In the past four months, at least two incidents were reported of Indian men being fired from their jobs in Middle Eastern countries for insensitive, derogatory or offensive statements.
Lulu Group’s chief communications officer V. Nandakumar said the company has a “strict and zero tolerance policy” with regard to staff misusing social media to spread “malicious or derogatory comments which might hurt religious sentiments”.
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“All GCC nations are home to a large cosmopolitan population from almost all countries in the world and we respect their sentiments, culture and religious beliefs,” Nandakumar said.
Kerala expats in the Gulf took to social media to express their appreciation for Yusuff Ali M.A., chairman and managing director of Lulu Group, for taking a strong step against the derogatory remarks, the report said.
The Supreme Court on September 28 had ruled that women will be allowed entry into Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
- Kerala expats in the Gulf took to social media to express their appreciation for Yusuff Ali M.A., chairman and managing director of Lulu Group.
The temple opened its door for all women visitors of all age groups for the first time on Wednesday after the historic apex court ruling last month.
Tension prevailed Wednesday morning in Kerala’s Nilackal, the main gateway to Sabarimala, after the police used force to disperse protestors opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the hill shrine.
The temple would be closed on October 22 after the five-day monthly prayer during the Malayalam month of Thulam.
Tensions prevailed in Sabarimala as women were barred from entering the temple by violent protestors. Credit: PTI
Previous instances
In August, another Lulu Group employee from Kerala was fired from his job in Oman after he made insensitive comments about the Kerala flood relief and rescue operations. He apologised on the next day, claiming that he was inebriated when he made the offensive comments. Lulu Group terminated his contract immediately, citing his “highly insensitive and derogatory comments” on the flood situation in Kerala.
A senior HR manager in a Dubai-based construction company was sacked in June this year when he posted a video threatening to kill Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He also threatened to rape members of the CM’s family. After the video was criticised, the man deleted the video. Interestingly, he too claimed he had been inebriated.
His company had taken cognizance of the hateful comments. “The action was taken in keeping with our company policy which has zero-tolerance for such behaviour,” a statement issued by the firm said.
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In April 2017, an employee of Alpha Paints in Dubai was sacked and soon deported from the country for sending abusive messages to investigative journalist Rana Ayyub. The 31-year-old was also a native of Kerala. The company took action against him after Ayyub posted a screenshot of his message on Twitter.
Under the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cybercrime law, any form of misuse of a computer, smart device or an electronic network could fetch the violator, if found guilty, a lengthy jail term and/or a heavy fine.
Speaking to Khaleej Times after the incident, Ayyub said she was surprised that action had been taken against the man. She receives abusive and offensive social media messages from people employed by Indian companies on a daily basis, but rarely was action taken against the offenders. The UAE-based company had also apologised to her, she said. “If this is the norm in the UAE, then I salute the country,” she said.